In order for previously baked products to maintain a high quality during display for sale, they have to be handled under precise conditions during their storage. They are usually heated throughout the vast majority of their display period to provide a warmed baked product ready for sale and consumption. This has significant consequences for textural characteristics, including bite and mouthfeel.
Previously baked dough products are displayed for sale in many different ways. Many such products are sold in sealed boxes or bags to retain the moisture content. Such sealed containers, however, result in the equilibration of moisture in the baked products over a period of time. Any moisture gradient that exists after baking is eliminated over time as the moisture migrates from the portion(s) having more moisture to the portions having less. This tends to result in a baked product that is soggy or, at best, uniformly moist and soft, such that it will not have a fresh baked character, i.e., crisp and chewy, after storage for a period of time.
Other previously baked products are sold in a large glass display case that is often open to the air on at least one side. Such displays typically result in significant or even complete loss of moisture from the previously baked product over time, as the moisture evaporates into the air. The products become hard due to the drying out of the moisture. This is particularly true of heated displays, and such heating can occur simply from long-term exposure to incandescent illumination used in many such displays to make the baked products more attractive to the consumer.
Existing devices to simultaneously heat and display baked products using conduction and convection are available for pizzas and operate at temperatures high enough to keep cheese in a soft and at least partially molten form, i.e., from 145° F. to 160° F. Also, many of these conventional heated devices for warming baked products typically dispose these products on a wire rack or a round pizza pan that exactly fits the product. At least some such prior art devices have a thermometer placed near the heat source and use a heat source at the top of the enclosure to directly heat at least the top pizza. Several such devices of this type are sold by Wisco Industries, Inc.
One such device sold by Wisco includes a movable rack inside a housing to display products, and a bi-met thermal switch for temperature control and an operator adjusts the temperature by a dial with no indication of what temperature the warmer needs to be set for any particular products. This device includes a heater with two inlets and one outlet to the transparent display chamber, where the heater uses a cross-flow blower of 110 ft3/min and a 650 W electric heater. The door to the housing is held shut with a magnetic strip that extends along a portion of the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,520 discloses an apparatus used to toast bread and buns, which then hot-holds the toasted bread and buns.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,098,529 and 6,159,514 disclose a heated merchandiser for displaying prepared donuts using both hot and cold light sources. The reference discloses that some heating occurs to temperatures of 85° F. to 110° F.
In sum, there is no existing apparatus to facilitate the display of a previously baked product that can maintain its fresh baked profile over a period of time to entice the consumer to purchase and consume the product. A higher level of moisture is typically present in the central portion of baked products compared to an outer, drier, crisper portion. This moisture gradient tends to equilibrate over time, providing a product that is soggier than desired as moisture moves outwards into the outer portion of the baked products, particularly after storage in a refrigerator or freezer. Despite the difficulties of retaining the fresh baked profile of previously baked products over time, retailers and their customers desire such products. For added convenience, economic reality, and for culinary delight, it is therefore desirable to have available previously baked products that retain their fresh baked character over time without deterioration of desired organoleptic properties.
Previously baked products or par-baked products that are partly baked are typically frozen or refrigerated. When thawed or cooked in a microwave prior to display, the dough products tend to be soggy and unappetizing since the moisture has no outlet when the product is totally wrapped. Susceptors for use in microwavable products could mitigate this problem, but are typically too time-consuming in the preparation of large quantities of small products that are desired for display in merchandisers. This is because susceptors to help provide crisping require too much time and effort because each susceptor must be placed around each product individually. Thus, there remains a need for equipment to provide such a stable baked product that retains the character of a fresh baked product that does not require the use of susceptors on large numbers of products when they are thawed or warmed in a microwave for display in a merchandiser. The present invention teaches such equipment without the aforementioned disadvantages of existing equipment.